Pregnancy and sport: Is it possible to swing the press, lift the barbell and run
PREGNANCY AND BIRTH OF THE CHILD still surrounded by a mass of myths and delusions, in all its diversity presented in the thematic forums and able to mislead anyone. Sporting work is perhaps one of the most controversial topics that pops up in this regard: in fact, initiative in this aspect is unacceptable, but many fears are completely in vain. Anastasia Karimova talked with her future mother, senior clinical research specialist, medical interpreter and fitness adept Olga Lukinskaya about why you shouldn't give up at the gym and even run during pregnancy, how to distribute the load and how it can help with childbirth.
I am 33 years old, is the eighth month of my first pregnancy. Every week I walk at least 60,000 steps, I train with iron three times and twice in the pool. My back does not hurt, there is no hemorrhoids, my ankles never swelled, and the massage therapist did not find a single gram of new fat. I am registered with doctors in Moscow and Barcelona and at the first consultation I asked whether it was possible to continue training. The answer was the same: “You shouldn’t start anything radically new, you need to continue your usual way of life”. In any case, I consulted with several authoritative sources and received the same recommendations: to continue the usual activity.
Different people in real life and on the Internet are expressing doubts and wondering if I can be “loaded” exactly. First of all, this is the Russian-speaking public, which, as you know, always has to do with what is going on in the life of the neighbor. In combination with the volume of fears and prejudices around pregnancy, this leads to typical dialogues, for example, on the social network for pregnant women Preggie: “Girls, how much wine should I drink for effect? I’m not for pleasure, I give birth to stimulate” will not be allowed if the toenails are made up? "," Is it true that you can not use deodorant for all nine months? ".
I have a higher medical education, as well as a master's degree in business management in the pharmaceutical industry and postgraduate education on the topic of physical activity in people with various diseases and conditions. I am not a gynecologist, not a trainer or an obstetrician, but this amount of knowledge allows one to search for logic in prohibitions and recommendations. When they say "no", I wonder why not. For example, in magazines for pregnant women it is written that contact or fighting sports are contraindicated. Does this mean that if you go to a fitness box, you immediately need to quit? No, it does not mean. Boxing training does not consist of sparring alone, and jumping on a rope or knocking on a punching bag without gasping is a great easy cardio, useful for both mom and baby. Another thing is to enter the ring, where there is a risk to get on the stomach or fly away to the knockout; common sense will say no and will be right. Common sense and awareness are key concepts.
Why do training at all during pregnancy? It is obvious that during pregnancy the lifestyle should be as healthy as possible. A healthy lifestyle without physical activity is an oxymoron. The more active a woman is, the easier the pregnancy goes, the back pain and swelling do not occur, the childbirth lasts less (I came across the information that their average duration is reduced by 8 hours in sports women compared to inactive women). The risk of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia is reduced. The state of health is generally better, there is more energy, sleep is stronger (“hormonal” insomnia is a frequent companion of pregnancy). Of course, activity helps regulate weight; It should be remembered that with a normal set of body weight about 8-13 kg only 1 kg of them is fat (according to European recommendations, and in American fat there can be about 3 kg). And by the way, there is often a wish for two (although the second is still quite tiny, and it needs very few calories).
Unfortunately, 60% of women throughout the pregnancy lead a sedentary lifestyle. It seems that this leads to endless stories about back pain, breaks and childbirth for 36 hours. Can I run? You can, if you ran before. You can if you are not choking. Not worth it if you never ran. Low-intensity cardio is indicated for most pregnant women, but it is important that you can keep up the conversation while jogging; hypoxia in a pregnant woman - hypoxia in the fetus, so the intensity has to be reduced. I stopped running for a year and a half before the pregnancy, so now I decided not to start, but I go at a fast pace almost every day (it is recommended to do cardio 3-5 times a week).
The intensity of the load (both aerobic and power) during pregnancy, by the way, is reduced completely by natural means. Since it is not recommended to choke (the intensity of training should be 12-14 on the Borg scale from 6 to 20), then the speed and weight gradually fall. Dyspnea can occur even when climbing the stairs, because the growing uterus squeezes the lungs up and they do not have enough space (and I sincerely thought that pregnant women have dyspnea because they are thick). That is, no matter how hard you try, in many cases it will not be possible to maintain the same intensity for physiological reasons. Is it possible to lift weights? Yes, if it is a translation of weight lifting as a sport and you did it before. No, if it is a heavy closet, you have never trained and not trained in proper technique. In this case, it is not necessary to lift weights, even if you are not pregnant. And even if you are a man, you still risk losing your back, lifting an inadequately heavy object. Common sense comes into play again.
Strength training strengthens muscles, bones and ligaments (and the spine is made from ligaments and bones, for example, spine), stimulates blood circulation and lymph flow (no edema!), Improves mood and skin quality. Strength training should take place 3 times a week, include the load on the main muscle groups and be again about 13 on the Borg scale, that is, moderate. I train according to the classical bodybuilding scheme: the day of the legs and buttocks, the day of the back and chest, the day of the arms and shoulders. Press at each workout (more about it below). Weights declined, but not out of fear or because someone forbade it, but because it became harder to breathe and the center of gravity shifted. Now I crouch with a 50 kg barbell, before pregnancy - 100 kg. For me, two times less weight is not at all "heavy", and in general weight is a subjective concept. Recommendations like “not to lift more than X kg” or “not to run at a speed greater than N km / h” should be immediately ignored, because all people are different, and it is impossible to standardize the concept of gravity or speed.
Can I download the press? Can and should be. Core muscles (they are now translated into Russian by the terrible phrase "muscles of the bark") are what surrounds the spinal column, that is, the abs, the back and the sides. The stronger they are, the easier it is to maintain a growing belly without overloading the spine. I do exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles and lumbar muscles, as well as different types of planks for each workout. As usual, listening to your body and common sense.
Why are pregnant women recommended special yoga and water exercises? Because many people have not done a single exercise in their lives, and only during pregnancy they realized that they needed activity. Smooth stretching or ploping in weightlessness will do no harm, and they are better than lying on the couch. I hate swimming, but I signed up for the pool, because there is a need for cardiovascular activity, and even more walking in the heat (and we have about 30 degrees for half a year) is boring and painful.
With regard to yoga, pilates and stretching, it must be borne in mind that during pregnancy, because of the increased levels of progesterone and relaxin, the mobility of the joints increases, there may be a feeling of “loose” ligaments. This effect is aimed at facilitating the process of childbirth at the expense of the "opening" of the hip joints. It is conducive to improving stretching (I personally try to sit on the splits, which I succeeded a few years ago) after training, but it increases the risk of dislocations, so caution should be exercised with explosive multi-joint movements like jumping squats or jumping lounges.
What are the prohibitions? In addition to the obvious (try not to drop the piece of iron on the stomach, avoid bumps and falls), starting from the second trimester it is not recommended to do exercises with a weight lying on your back (because this will limit the venous outflow) and, as I said, you should not allow hypoxia. Bleeding, cramping, or severely feeling unwell is a reason to consult a doctor, and this does not depend on whether you play sports.
I’ll make a reservation that this is a low-risk pregnancy. If you specifically have contraindications and the doctor recommended otherwise, then this article should be ignored. But if everything is going well, you were engaged in sports before pregnancy, then you can and should continue to listen to your body and mind. And it would be good to come up with a witty answer to advisers. For example, I can’t "do anything" (drink coffee, fly a plane, rock a press) with a smile: "Of course, it’s impossible, or a little black person can be born, but that doesn’t scare me." Is it worth clarifying that my husband is African?
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